Cubs, an all encompassing trip

6/25: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, The AZL Cubs scored four and added another in the eighth to win 6-4. After going 6-for-6 on Saturday Timothy Saunders stayed hot as he had two more hits bringing his average to .526. Trey Martin had two doubles with a run scored and an RBI. Jacob Rogers also went 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI’s. Daniel Vogelbach hit his fourth double on the young season and he also scored a run. Eduardo Orozco got the win in relief striking out two batters and Jin-Young Kim pitched two perfect innings to record his first save of the season.

Boise just couldn’t get the bats going as they lost 4-1 to Spokane on Monday. On the bright side Gioskar Amaya went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored raising his average to .386. Marco Hernandez had a double and had the only RBI of the night. Jeimer Candelario, Wilson Contreras, and Rock Shoulders all had one hit on the night. Jose Arias pitched well again as he gave up one run on three hits in five innings of work. Amaury Paulino took the loss giving up three runs on two hits in two innings.

Peoria scored a run in the eighth to win a nail biter 2-1. Anthony Giansanti was the hero delivering the game winning RBI. He entered the game after Javier Baez left with an injury. It sounds like everything will be fine with Baez and he is day-to-day. Wes Darvill had two hits and Yasiel Balaguert had a nice night at the plate going 2-for-3. Dustin Geiger had the other Chiefs RBI in the third inning. Zachary Rosscup got the win in relief pitching 2.1 innings while only giving up a hit and striking out two. Luis Liria recorded his third save as he pitched the last two innings giving up one hit and striking one batter out. Zach Cates got the start and allowed one run on five hits in 4.2 innings.

Daytona won both games of the double header on Monday. The Cubs won the first game 7-3 highlighted by a five run second. Arismendy Alcantara went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI’s in the winning effort. He also stole his 22nd bag of the year. Micah Gibbs and John Andreoli each had two hits and a run scored. Matt Szczur had a hit and stole his 21st base of the season. Taylor Davis had a double and drove in two runs, Rebel Ridling and Rubi Silva each had RBIs as well. Matt Loosen got his sixth win of the year, giving up three runs on two hits in six innings while striking out seven.

Game two was not so easy, as Daytona tied the game with three runs in the sixth and won it in the 12th. Dustin Harrington was the hero as he drove in Ronald Torreyes, who represented the game winning run. Matt Szczur went 2-for-4 with a double, run, RBI, two walks, and his 22 stolen base. Chad Noble had two doubles and a run scored and Harrington had two hits as well. Alantara and Silva had the other two RBI’s for the Cubs. Kyler Burke, who had been pitching for Peoria got the start for Daytona. In his first outing he pitched five innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two. The Cubs bullpen was outstanding as they pitched seven scoreless innings. They gave up only one hit and struck out nine. Scott Weismann got the win as he struck out four in three innings of work. Eduardo Figuerora closed the game out recording his first save of the season.

Tennessee had two games on Monday as well, but they did not go as well as Daytona. The Smokies lost the first game 11-3. This game was lost on the mound as Eric Jokisch really, really struggled as he gave up 10 runs nine earned on nine hits in 5.2 innings. Unbelievably his ERA jumped all the way to 3.38. That is how good he has been so far. Jae-Hoon Ha and Junior Lake each had two hits. Lake had a double and drove in two. Michael Burgess had a double and drove in the other Smokies run in game one.

Game one was bad, but game two was not much better as Jacksonville beat Tennessee 10-3. Dallas Beeler got the start giving up one run in 3.1 innings, but did not factor in the decision. Keven Rhoderick got the loss as he gave up five runs in .2 innings of work. Marcus Hatley and Casey Harman didn’t have much better luck as each gave up two runs. Justin Bour, Nelson Perez, and Nate Samson drove in the three Smokies runs in game two. Junior Lake also had another hit and his average now sits at .315.

On a day that will be remembered as Anthony Rizzo‘s last game at Iowa, the Cubs played quite a good game winning 2-1. Brooks Raley got the start and pitched beautifully throwing seven great innings. He gave up one run on only five hits as he struck out five and got the win. Jay Jackson pitched another good inning in relief striking out three. Rafael Dolis took another step in the right direction recording his third save since going to Iowa. Offensively Josh Vitters has been on an absolute tear as he was all the offense the Cubs would need. He had an RBI hit in the first inning and hit his 12th home run of the year in the third. It proved to be the game winner and Vitters is now hitting .292.

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